T
his winter I have 
been fishing often on 
the Kaipara harbour 
and this extensive 
harbour system, 
which is Godzone’s 
largest, offers good 
snapper fishing year-
round.  The west coast harbours 
are typically shallow but, in the 
Kaipara, there are places that are 
15 – 30m deep, but we tend to 
fish along the shallows around the 
large sandbanks where the fish 
gather for food such as shellfish.
RUNNING RIG
With the current strong here, 
usually 4-5 knots you need to take 
a good selection of ball sinkers 
from 2oz to 4oz to ensure you can 
keep your bait hard on the bottom 
as the tide picks up.  We need to 
change up the sinkers as the current 
increases and then downsize again 
when the current slows up.
Find the schools of kahawai to 
target with softbaits for fresh bait.
Setting up with a berley bag out and 
cut baits on lines with light drags 
set waiting for the fish to arrive.
 /FISHINGINGODZONE  51

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